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“Midwinter numbers don’t really tell us much about upcoming activity,” said DataQuick President John Walsh. “Not much is changing beyond the normal seasonal ebb and flow. This spring should be interesting. We may find out how much pent-up supply and demand is still on hold from the Great Recession, and how it will play itself out.”

One trend for Stanislaus seems to be rising prices for new houses. Just-finished homes sold for a median $307,500 in the county last month, which was 36 percent higher than a year ago. But very few houses are being built these days: Just eight new homes sold during January.

Used condo prices also have jumped significantly in Stanislaus, selling for a median $132,500 last month. That’s nearly 83 percent higher than last year.

Home prices soared the most in Riverbank, where the median price last month hit $240,250. That was nearly 66 percent higher than January 2013.

Patterson prices, by contrast, have risen only 11 percent, to $225,000.

Meanwhile in San Francisco, the median-priced home sold for $884,500, which was a one-year jump of nearly 27 percent.